KR20050105266A - Inline connection setting method and device and substrate processing device and substrate processing system - Google Patents

Abstract

A method comprising at least the step of requesting the transfer of profile information on an exposure system to an inline-connected exposure system by a coating/developing device, the step of receiving the profile information from the exposure system by the coating/developing device, and the step of selecting software used in and by the coating/developing device in response to the profile information.

Description

INLINE CONNECTION SETTING METHOD AND DEVICE AND SUBSTRATE PROCESSING DEVICE AND SUBSTRATE PROCESSING SYSTEM

The present invention relates to an in-line connection setting method and apparatus for automatically setting connection between devices performing in-line processing, and a substrate processing technique. For example, the present invention regularly checks a connection device during start-up (power ON) or during operation. An in-line connection setting method and apparatus for automatically setting connection setting of an in-line connected device each time.

For example, in the photolithography process in electronic device manufacturing processes, such as a semiconductor and a liquid crystal display, it exposes to the coating developing apparatus which apply | coats or develops a resist liquid with a wafer or a glass substrate, and the wafer or glass substrate with which the resist liquid was apply | coated. The exposure apparatus which processes is combined and it performs in-line process.

In-line processing of this coating and developing apparatus and exposure apparatus is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-188253.

By the way, in the in-line process in a device manufacturing site, there are many multivendor environments in which apparatuses of different manufacturers are connected in-line.

For example, in the case where the exposure apparatus of the maker A and the exposure apparatus of the maker B are connected to the coating and developing apparatus, for example, in the communication between the exposure apparatus of the maker A and the coating and developing apparatus, the coating and developing apparatus is a wafer. In the communication between the exposure apparatus of the maker B and the coating and developing apparatus, the send signal is turned on after the wafer is conveyed while the send signal is turned on before the conveyance is turned on (the send signal is turned on and the wafer is conveyed). As described above (the Send signal is turned ON when the transfer of the wafer is finished), the timing of communication between the two devices is different depending on the maker of the exposure apparatus, so that smooth operation cannot be performed.

In general, the connector pin assignment of the communication cable differs depending on the manufacturer. For example, a connector pin of a specific pin number of the maker A's exposure apparatus may be assigned to an error signal, while a pin number such that a connector pin of the same pin number of the maker B's exposure apparatus may be assigned to the lot end signal. Specifications such as signal name assignment are often different.

Therefore, the manufacturer of the coating and developing apparatus sets data in accordance with the apparatus connected to the coating destination in advance with respect to the coating and developing apparatus before delivery of the coating and developing apparatus.

By the way, the counterpart apparatus connected at the device manufacturing site, for example, the exposure apparatus may be replaced by another maker, or the internal software of the exposure apparatus may be changed to another specification system. In this case, the coating and developing apparatus side needs to reset the internal software setting adapted to the new exposure apparatus. This resetting has been performed by a conventional operator by hand (manual operation) from the terminal for changing work or input setting.

However, when the operator responds to the manual operation, it does not eliminate the human miss. For example, even though the exposure apparatus is changed, the necessary software setting is not changed, or the setting error in the software setting change occurs. There exists a possibility that the in-line process of a developing apparatus and an exposure apparatus may not be performed smoothly.

In the case where such in-line processing is not performed smoothly, for example, the wafer is broken and the incidence of defective products is increased, leading to a decrease in product ratio.

Moreover, when inconvenience, such as a fault, arises in the exposure apparatus connected in-line, the operation | movement of an application | coating development apparatus to a standby state or a power-off is performed by manual operation of an operator.

However, there is a risk that the operator performs an improper treatment such as restarting the coating and developing apparatus from the standby state without recovering the failure of the exposure apparatus.

1 is a block diagram showing a relationship between a plurality of pattern forming apparatuses and a host computer.

It is a top view which shows the structural example of the mechanism system of a pattern forming apparatus.

3 is a block diagram showing an internal configuration example of a control system of the coating and developing apparatus and the exposure apparatus that constitute the pattern forming apparatus.

4 is a diagram illustrating some memory elements of the auxiliary storage unit of the coating and developing apparatus.

5 is a diagram illustrating an execution flow of a software program in the coating and developing apparatus.

6 is a diagram illustrating a configuration module of a connection setting program.

7 is a diagram showing an example of a code table stored as data in an auxiliary storage unit.

8A and 8B are diagrams each showing an example of connector pin assignment in the exposure apparatus of A company B company.

9 is a diagram illustrating a processing flow of a connection setting program.

An object of the present invention is to automatically set the internal software corresponding to a connection partner device when there is a change in the inline connection partner device main body or the internal software of the partner device. It is an object of the present invention to provide an in-line connection setting method and apparatus that can appropriately deal with the problem.

That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a first in-line connection setting method for automatically setting connection between devices that perform in-line processing on a target object, wherein the first processing device is in-line connected to the first processing device. Requesting delivery of profile information which is information about said second processing device to said second processing device, and said first processing device receiving said profile information from said second processing device; ,

An in-line connection setting method including a step of selecting a software file used by the first processing device in the first processing device in response to the profile information is provided.

According to this method, information on the counterpart device can be obtained by receiving profile information of the counterpart device from the in-line connected counterpart device, so that an appropriate software file for matching with the counterpart device can be selected.

It is also preferable that the first processing apparatus receives the profile information by directly communicating with the second processing apparatus via a communication path formed in a local area network (LAN).

LANs are often already installed, and device costs can be reduced by securing communication paths using these LANs.

In addition, the profile information preferably includes at least maker information and format information of the second processing apparatus and version information of software used in the second processing apparatus.

With this information, it is possible to specify the operating conditions of the connection counterpart device, so that the corresponding software file can be set.

In addition, it is preferable that the profile information include information on whether or not the second processing apparatus is in a normal state.

In this way, appropriate countermeasures can be taken by receiving information whether the connected counterpart device is in a normal state or an abnormal state.

In addition, the first processing device is connected one-to-one with the second processing device by a communication cable, and has a plurality of types of hard definition files that are connector pin assignment information of the communication cable, and the plurality of processing devices correspond to the profile information. It is desirable to select a hard definition file from among a kind of hard definition files for use as the first processing device.

The first processing device further has software for processing the object to be processed and a plurality of types of interface files to use as the first processing device among the plurality of types of interface files corresponding to the selected hard definition file. It is desirable to choose.

Thus, by preparing a plurality of types of interface files in advance, the interface file corresponding to the hard definition file can be selected and used.

In addition, it is preferable that the first processing device requests the delivery of the profile information to the second processing device every predetermined time.

In this way, even if there is an abnormality in the counterpart apparatus during the processing of the object, the information can be obtained and appropriate measures can be performed.

In addition, according to the second aspect of the present invention, the first processing apparatus is an in-line connection setting apparatus that automatically performs connection setting of a second processing apparatus to a first processing apparatus that performs in-line processing on a target object. The connection state confirming unit for confirming the connection of the information communication of the second processing apparatus connected in-line to the second processing apparatus and requesting the delivery of profile information about the second processing apparatus to the second processing apparatus. First storage means for storing a program for sequentially executing the information acquisition unit for receiving information and a file selection unit for selecting a software file to be used in correspondence with the profile information; There is provided an in-line connection setting device including control means for executing a program stored in the first storage means.

In the in-line connection setting device, the first processing device is connected one-to-one by a communication cable to a second processing device which is an in-line connected counterpart device, and the first storage means is connected to the communication cable. It is preferable to store plural types of hard definition files that are connector pin assignment information.

Preferably, the file selector has a hard definition file selector, and the hard definition file selector selects a hard definition file to be used from among the plurality of types of hard definition files.

The first storage means preferably stores software for processing a target object, the plurality of hard definition files, and the plurality of interface files.

Thus, by preparing a plurality of types of interface files in advance, the interface file corresponding to the hard definition file can be selected and used.

The file selection unit includes a hard definition file selecting unit and an interface file selecting unit, wherein the hard definition file selecting unit selects a hard definition file to be used from among the plurality of types of hard definition files, and the interface file selecting unit selects from the plurality of kinds of interface files. It is recommended that you select the interface file to use.

In this way, the hard definition file and the interface file stored in the first storage means can be selected.

In addition, the information acquisition unit preferably receives the profile information by directly communicating with the in-line connected counterpart device via a communication path formed in a local area network (LAN).

LANs are often already established, and device costs can be reduced by securing communication paths using these LANs.

The profile information includes at least maker information and format information of the counterpart device and version information of software used in the counterpart device, and the inline connection setting device is configured to store the received profile information. It is desirable to have more memory.

By preparing a place for receiving profile information in this way, the operating conditions of the connection partner apparatus can be specified with reference to this, so that the corresponding software file can be set.

In addition, the profile information preferably includes information on whether or not the counterpart device is in a normal state.

In this way, appropriate countermeasures can be taken by receiving information whether the connected counterpart device is in a normal state or an abnormal state.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a substrate processing apparatus for performing in-line processing on a substrate in cooperation with a counterpart apparatus, comprising: a processing unit for performing in-line processing on the substrate; Of the first communication interface and the counterpart apparatus for performing information communication for performing the in-line processing of the substrate between the processing unit and the counterpart apparatus between the substrate delivery mechanism for delivering the substrate and the counterpart apparatus. A second communication interface for communicating software information therebetween; Software file storage means for storing profile information about the corresponding device from the counterpart device via the second communication interface and a plurality of software files for controlling the operation of the own device; There is provided a substrate processing apparatus provided with file selection means for selecting a software file for controlling the operation of the own device from the software file storage means in response to the profile information acquired via the second communication interface from the counterpart device. .

According to such a substrate processing apparatus, information about the substrate processing apparatus of the opposite side can be obtained by receiving profile information of the apparatus from the substrate processing apparatus of the counterpart connected inline, so that the substrate processing apparatus in cooperation with the substrate processing apparatus of the counterpart is connected to the substrate. It is possible to select an appropriate software file for matching with the substrate processing apparatus on the opposite side in the in-line processing for performing the processing.

      Moreover, according to the 4th viewpoint which concerns on this invention, the said 1st processing apparatus is a substrate processing system which consists of a 1st processing apparatus and a 2nd processing apparatus which perform in-line process with respect to a to-be-processed object, The said 1st processing apparatus is an in-line connected said A connection state confirming unit that confirms the connection of information communication with the second processing apparatus; An information acquisition unit for requesting delivery of profile information about the second processing device to the second processing device, and receiving the profile information; First storage means having a file selection unit for selecting software files to be used in correspondence with the profile information, and storing a program for sequentially executing the program files; A substrate processing system having a connection setting section having control means for executing a program stored in the first storage means is provided.

According to such a substrate processing system, since the first processing apparatus and the second processing apparatus connected in-line can receive profile information of the apparatus from the processing apparatus of the counterpart, information on the processing apparatus of the counterpart can be obtained. In an in-line process in which a series of processes are performed on a substrate in cooperation with a processing device, an appropriate software file for matching with the processing device on the other side can be selected.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiment of this invention is described with reference to an accompanying drawing.

1 is a block diagram illustrating a relationship between a plurality of pattern forming systems and a host computer used in a photolithography step of an electronic device manufacturing step such as a semiconductor or a liquid crystal display, for example.

As shown in FIG. 1, the pattern forming system 100 has the coating and developing apparatus 1 and the exposure apparatus 20, and these are processed by the conveyance line 33 (corresponding to the interface portion 80 shown in FIG. 2). It is arrange | positioned so that conveyance of a chain wafer (substrate) may be ensured, and is connected mutually by the communication path 35. As shown in FIG.

In addition, a plurality of pattern forming systems 100 (shown with four pattern forming apparatuses in FIG. 1) are respectively connected to LAN cables 34 which form a LAN (Local Area Network), for example, by Ethernet (registered trademark) or the like. have. Specifically, each of the coating and developing apparatus 1 and the exposure apparatus 20 is connected to the LAN cable 34, and the host computer 45 is connected to the LAN cable 34.

The host computer 45 performs operation control of the plurality of pattern forming systems 100 via this LAN. For example, for each pattern forming system 100, a recipe for processing to a wafer to be processed is specified, and a process start command is issued.

As shown in FIG. 2, each pattern forming system 100 includes a coating developing apparatus 1 for performing resist coating onto a wafer W and developing after exposure, and an exposure apparatus 20 for exposing a resist applied to the wafer W. As shown in FIG. The coating and developing apparatus 1 and the exposure apparatus 20 are connected in-line.

This coating and developing apparatus 1 is a coating and developing unit which applies a resist to the carry-out / out part 60 and the wafer W into which the cassette CS containing the plurality of wafers W is carried in and out, and develops after exposure. It consists of the interface part 80 which guides the wafer W between 70 and the application | coating development part 70 exposure apparatus 20. As shown in FIG.

The carry-in / out part 60 is equipped with the conveyance mechanism 61 which conveys the wafer W between the cassette CS and the application | coating development part 70.

The coating and developing unit 70 includes a plurality of processes including two coating units 76 for applying a resist to the wafer W, two developing units 77 for developing the exposed wafer, and a hydrophobic treatment heat treatment cooling treatment. It is equipped with two processing unit towers 71 and 73 in which the unit is piled up and down. In addition, the processing unit tower 75 shown by the broken line may be provided, and when installing the processing unit tower 75, it is free to move along the guide rail 74. As shown in FIG.

One application unit 76 and one development unit 77 are duplicated in two stages with the application unit 76 down, and the other application unit 76 and the other development unit 77 are identically two-stage. Is duplicated.

The application | coating development part 70 is equipped with the conveyance mechanism 72 which conveys the wafer W, and the application | coating unit 76 around this conveyance mechanism 72; Developing unit 77; Processing unit towers 71 and 73 are arranged. And by this conveyance mechanism 72, the coating unit 76; Developing unit 77; Wafer W is delivered to each processing unit of the processing unit towers 71 and 73.

This conveyance mechanism 72 is comprised by the drive mechanism which is not shown, for example, being freely moving back and forth, freely moving, and rotating around a vertical axis | shaft.

The interface unit 80 includes a peripheral exposure apparatus 81 for exposing only the peripheral portion of the wafer W, a mounting portion 83 for temporarily placing the wafer W, and a transfer mechanism 82 for conveying the wafer W. Equipped. The conveyance mechanism 82 is a mounting part 83; The delivery of the wafer W between the application | coating development part 70 of the wafer W with respect to the peripheral exposure apparatus 81, and between the exposure apparatus 20 is performed. The placement unit 83 is configured by, for example, stacking two layers of holding shelves for buffers.

The exposure apparatus 20 includes a pre-processing stage 91 for placing the wafer W before exposure, a vacuum chamber 95 for performing exposure, an electron gun 94 for exposure, and a post-processing stage for placing the wafer W after exposure ( The transfer arm 93 which transfers the wafer W between 92, each stage 91 and 92, and the vacuum chamber 95 is provided.

In addition, the transfer and delivery of the wafer W between the carry-in and out sections 60 and the coating and developing unit 70 and the delivery and delivery of the wafer W between the coating and developing unit 70 and the interface unit 80 are performed by the processing unit. This is done via the take-in and take-off units provided in the towers 71 and 73, respectively.

In-line processing of the wafer W in the pattern formation system 100 comprised as mentioned above is performed as follows.

First, the wafer cassette CS in which the wafers W are housed from the outside is disposed in the carry-out / out part 60, and the wafer W is taken out from the cassette CS by the transfer mechanism 61 there. The wafer W is conveyed to the take-in / delivering unit of the processing unit tower 71. The wafer W placed on the delivery and delivery unit is transferred to the hydrophobic treatment unit in the processing unit tower 71 by the transfer mechanism 72 and hydrophobized there. Then, the wafer W is conveyed to the application unit 76 where the resist liquid is applied to form a resist film. After that, the wafer W is prebaked in the heating unit in the processing unit tower 71, and then conveyed to the transfer and delivery unit of the processing unit tower 73 by the transfer mechanism 72 to the transfer mechanism 82. It conveys to the interface part 80 by this.

The wafer W sent to the interface unit 80 is once accommodated in the holding shelf of the placement unit 83, is set therein to the same temperature as the environmental temperature in the exposure apparatus 20, and then sent to the exposure apparatus 20.

After exposure by the exposure apparatus 20, the wafer W is returned to the interface portion 80 again, and the peripheral exposure apparatus 81 exposes only the peripheral portion thereof. It is stored in 83.

Thereafter, the wafer W is conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 82 to the take-in and deliver unit in the processing unit tower 73, and conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 72 to the heating unit in the processing unit tower 71 or 73, whereby It is post exposed baked and cooled by a cooling unit in the processing unit tower 71 or 73. After cooling, the wafer W is developed in the developing unit 77. Thereafter, it is post-baked to the heating unit of the processing unit tower 71 or 73 and cooled by the cooling unit as needed. Thereafter, the wafer W is conveyed by the transfer mechanism 72 to the take-in / delivery unit in the processing unit tower 71 and returned by the transfer mechanism 61 into the cassette CS of the carry-in / out part 60.

In the pattern forming system 100, the environmental temperatures of the coating and developing apparatus 1 and the exposure apparatus 20 are automatically adjusted so that the coating and developing apparatus 1 and the exposure apparatus 20 of the wafer W as the object to be processed are adjusted. The delivery timing in the present invention is also adjusted to perform smoothly.

In other words, since the coating and developing apparatus and the exposure apparatus need to match each other, in the present embodiment, various settings related to the internal software can be set in accordance with the software system of the exposure apparatus, for example, on the coating and developing apparatus side by the control system described below. Is done.

3 is a block diagram showing an example of the configuration of a control system in the coating and developing apparatus 1 and the exposure apparatus 20 constituting the pattern forming system 100 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.

As shown in Fig. 3, the coating and developing apparatus 1, which is the first processing apparatus and is an in-line connection setting apparatus (substrate processing apparatus), is a central processing unit that is a key point of operation control for performing overall internal control as hardware of a control system ( 2) equipped. As the control system hardware, the main memory unit which temporarily reads and writes information is temporarily operated by the operation unit 10, the nonvolatile auxiliary storage unit 11 serving as the first storage unit, and the second storage unit. 12), the machine control part 13 which controls a mechanical operation, and the communication interface 15; 16 for information communication are connected. Moreover, the input / output port 14 for carrying in / out of a wafer is connected to the machine control part 13.

The central processing unit 2 includes a CPU 3 and a specific purpose dedicated IC 4, and the IC 4 includes a connection detector 5; A processing command unit 6; Recipe selection unit 7; The status report part 8; It is comprised by the communication control part 9.

The connection detection unit 5 has a function of detecting a connection in a communication cable with the exposure apparatus 20. The processing command unit 6 also has a function of outputting a command to the coating and developing apparatus 1 based on a processing instruction from the host computer 45, for example, a processing start instruction or a wafer replacement instruction. have.

The recipe selection unit 7 has a function of selecting a corresponding process recipe from a recipe group stored in the auxiliary storage unit 11 based on the identification code sent from the host computer 45. This processing recipe is program software for processing a wafer, which is a substrate to be processed. For example, various conditions such as the type of resist liquid and processing time of the developer solution used in the coating and developing apparatus 1 have been determined. A plurality of kinds are prepared by this and form a recipe group.

In addition, the status report unit 8 receives the information of the application and development apparatus 1 such as the process status report, the process result report, or the failure information temporarily stored in the main memory 12, by the host computer 45 and the exposure apparatus 20. Has the ability to report to

The communication control unit 9 has a function of performing communication control with the exposure apparatus 20 and the host computer 45 via the communication interfaces 15 and 16.

On the other hand, the exposure apparatus 20 (substrate processing apparatus) which is a 2nd processing apparatus and the counterpart apparatus of the coating and developing apparatus 1 uses the central processing unit 21 which becomes the essential point of the operation control of the exposure apparatus 20 as hardware of a control system. Equipped. In addition, the central processing unit 21 and the mechanical memory inside the exposure apparatus 20 for temporarily reading and writing information with the nonvolatile auxiliary storage unit 28 as another control system hardware in the central processing unit 21. The machine control part 30 for performing control and the communication interface 32; 33 for performing information communication are connected. In addition, an input / output port 31 for carrying in and out of wafers is connected to the machine control unit 30.

The central processing unit 21 has a CPU 22 and a specific purpose dedicated IC 23, which has a processing command unit 24; a recipe selection unit 25; a recent status report unit 26; It consists of the communication control part 27.

The processing command unit 24 has a function of outputting a command to the exposure apparatus 20 based on the processing instruction from the host computer 45.

The recipe selection unit 25 has a function of selecting a corresponding process recipe from a recipe group stored in the auxiliary storage unit 28 based on the identification code sent from the host computer 45. In addition, in the process recipe in the exposure apparatus 20, the target type and exposure time exposure amount are determined, for example.

The recent status report part 26 has a function which reports the information of the exposure apparatus 20, such as process-form sulfur report and fault information stored in the main memory 29, to the host computer 45 and the application | coating development apparatus 1, and the like. have.

The communication control unit 27 has a function of performing communication control with the coating and developing apparatus 1 and the host computer 45 via the communication interfaces 32 and 33.

The communication interface 15 of the coating and developing apparatus 1 and the communication interface 32 of the exposure apparatus 20 are connected by an 8-pin parallel cable P to form a communication path 35. As described above, the coating and developing apparatus 1 and the exposure apparatus 20 are connected to the LAN cable 34, respectively, but are connected through the communication interfaces 16 and 33, respectively, to form a communication path 36 on the LAN. .

In the pattern formation system 100 comprised in this way, it operates as follows at the time of start of operation (at the time of power supply ON).

First, when both the coating and developing apparatus 1 and the exposure apparatus 20 are in a power-on state, in the central processing unit 2 of the coating and developing apparatus 1, the connection detection unit 5 is connected in hardware to the exposure apparatus 20. Is detected. That is, it detects that the communication interface 15 of the coating and developing apparatus 1 and the communication interface 32 of the exposure apparatus 20 are connected one-to-one by the parallel cable P which is a communication cable.

In the coating and developing apparatus 1, the in-line connection setting on the software with the exposure apparatus 20 is automatically performed in accordance with the information exchange through the communication path 36 on the LAN. The connection setting on the software is related to the features of the present invention and will be described later in detail.

After the connection setting of the coating and developing apparatus 1 and the exposure apparatus 20 is performed, the recipe selecting unit 7 of the coating and developing apparatus 1 performs the auxiliary storage unit 11 according to the instruction of the host computer 45 (see FIG. 1). Select the corresponding processing recipe from the processing recipe group memorized in).

The selected processing recipe is read once into the main memory 12 which can write and read information at high speed. The processing command part 6 commands the machine control part 13 etc. according to the process recipe on the main memory part 12 in cooperation with the exposure apparatus 20, and the process with respect to the to-be-processed object is performed.

On the other hand, also in the exposure apparatus 20, according to the command of the host computer 45, the recipe selection part 25 selects a corresponding process recipe from the process recipe group memorize | stored in the auxiliary memory part 28. As shown in FIG. The selected processing recipe is read once into the main memory 29 which can write and read information at high speed. The processing command part 24 commands the machine control part 30 etc. according to the process recipe on the main memory part 29, in cooperation with the application | coating development apparatus 1, and performs the exposure process with respect to the wafer which is a to-be-processed object.

Next, the in-line connection setting on software with the exposure apparatus 20 in the coating and developing apparatus 1 is demonstrated.

4 shows some of the memory elements of the auxiliary storage unit 11 of the coating and developing apparatus 1. FIG. 5 is a flow of execution of the software program in the coating and developing apparatus 1, and FIG. 6 shows a configuration module of the connection setting program. 7 is an example of a code table stored as data in the auxiliary storage unit 11; FIGS. 8A and 8B are examples of pin assignment tables of the exposure apparatus of A company and B company, respectively; 9 shows the processing flow of the connection setting program.

As shown in FIG. 4, the auxiliary storage unit 11 of the coating and developing apparatus 1 includes at least a connection setting program 40; Code table 41; Treatment recipe group 42; Hard definition file group 43; The interface file group 44 is stored.

The connection setting program 40 is a program for automatically performing software connection setting with the exposure apparatus 20 in the coating and developing apparatus 1. In addition, the process recipe group 42 is comprised by the some process recipe.

The code table 41 is a maker name as shown in FIG. form ; The combination of software versions is shown corresponding to the type code.

The hard definition file group 43 is composed of a plurality of types of files used in the selected process recipe by describing the connector pin assignment information in the communication cable P (see Fig. 3) corresponding to the above type code.

The hard definition file group 43 includes a maker A of the exposure apparatus on the opposite side as exemplified in Figs. 8A and 8B as assignment information of the connector pins; The signal name function assigned to the pin number of the "connector pin" in the communication cable is stored for each maker such as maker B.

The interface file group 44 is composed of a plurality of types of interface files used in the program of the processing recipe selected corresponding to the type code. This interface file is a hard definition file used in the program of the selected processing recipe and a software file serving as an interface part of the processing recipe.

In this in-line connection setting, as shown in FIG. 5, the connection setting program 40 is executed in order to perform in-line processing with the exposure apparatus 20 connected first in the coating and developing apparatus 1 (step S1). ). This is realized by the connection setting program 40 stored in the auxiliary storage section 11 being started after the application of the coating and developing apparatus 1 and the exposure apparatus 20 is turned on.

The execution of the connection setting program 40 matches the coating and developing apparatus 1 with the exposure apparatus 20, and then the recipe selected and selected by the host computer 45 is selected by the recipe selecting section 7. Then, the selected recipe program is executed to perform a predetermined process on the wafer to be processed (step S2).

The connection setting program 40 mentioned above is also demonstrated in detail. As shown in FIG. 6, the connection setting program 40 includes at least a connection state checking unit 40a, an information obtaining unit 40b, and a file selecting unit 40c as sub programs. The file selector 40c is composed of a hard definition file selector 40d and an interface file selector 40e.

The connection state checking unit 40a has a function (program) for confirming whether communication with the exposure apparatus 20 is possible through the communication path 36 formed on the LAN, and establishing a communicable state if communication is possible.

The information acquisition part 40b is equipped with the function (program) which acquires the profile information of the exposure apparatus 20 side from the recent situation report part 26 etc. of the exposure apparatus 20 through the said communication path 36. . This profile information includes information such as a maker type software version of the exposure apparatus 20, information on whether or not the exposure apparatus 20 is abnormal.

The hard definition file selection unit 40d calculates the corresponding type code from the profile information acquired by the information acquisition unit 40b, and stores the hard definition file corresponding to the type code in the auxiliary storage unit 11. A function (program) for selecting from the file group 43 is provided.

The interface file selection unit 40e has a function (program) for selecting an interface file corresponding to the type code from the interface file group 44 stored in the auxiliary storage unit 11.

Next, the operation | movement operation | movement of the connection setting program 40 is demonstrated using FIG. In addition, the information communication which the application | coating development apparatus 1 and the exposure apparatus 20 perform using the communication path 36 formed on LAN is supposed to be performed in accordance with a commonly prescribed protocol.

First, when the power supply of the coating and developing apparatus 1 and the exposure apparatus 20 is turned on, and the connection detection part 5 of the central processing unit 2 detects the connection with the exposure apparatus 20, the connection setting program 40 ) Is read and activated by the main memory 12 which can write and read data at high speed.

After the program is started, the connection state checking unit 40a issues an inquiry signal to the exposure apparatus 20 via the communication path 36 formed on the LAN (step S11). On the other hand, if a normal response signal has returned from the exposure apparatus 20 side, it determines with normal connection (step S12), and progresses to the next step. If there is no normal response signal from the exposure apparatus 20 side (step S12), the coating and developing apparatus 1 is in a standby state while the inquiry is repeated to the exposure apparatus 20 again and there is no normal response.

When the connection with the exposure apparatus 20 is confirmed, the information acquisition part 40b issues the profile information request command with respect to the exposure apparatus 20 (step S13). Here, from the exposure apparatus 20, the manufacturer name of the exposure apparatus 20 via the communication path 36 on LAN; Information such as a formal software version, information on whether there is an abnormality in the exposure apparatus 20, or the like is returned to the information acquisition unit 40b as profile information.

If it is judged that there is no abnormality in the exposure apparatus 20 from these profile information (step S14), hard definition file selection setting is performed (step S18).

In this hard definition file selection setting, the hard definition file selection unit 40d calculates the corresponding type code using the code table 41 from the profile information acquired by the information acquisition unit 40b in step S13, and assigns the corresponding type code to the type code. The corresponding hard definition file is selected from the hard definition file group 43 stored in the auxiliary storage unit 11. In practice, the read address of the hard definition file used during execution of the processing recipe is determined.

Subsequently, the hard definition file selection setting is followed by the selection setting of the interface file (step S19). In the selection setting of the interface file, the interface file selecting unit 40e selects an interface file corresponding to the type code and the selected hard definition file from the interface file group 44 stored in the auxiliary storage unit 11. In practice, the read address of the interface file used during execution of the processing recipe is determined.

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S14 that the exposure apparatus 20 is in an abnormal state, it is determined from this report whether it can be repaired again (step S15). If it is judged that repair is not possible here, an operation stop command is issued to the processing command unit 6 (step S17), and the operation of the coating and developing apparatus 1 is stopped (power supply is turned off) to end.

If it is determined that the repair is possible in step S15, the process returns to step S13 again after waiting for a predetermined time (step S16) and requests the information acquisition of the exposure apparatus 20.

Also, as described above, after the connection setting program ends, the selected processing recipe is executed, but the processing recipe program; Selected hard definition file; The selected interface file is read by the main memory 12 and executed. At this time, the processing recipe program is executed using the selected hard definition file and the interface file.

In addition, even when the processing recipe program is being executed, the exposure apparatus 20 is periodically requested to take over and deliver the profile information (step S13 in FIG. 9) to determine the current state of the exposure apparatus and to stop the operation when there is a change or an abnormality. You may make appropriate measures, such as).

As described above, in one embodiment of the present invention, since the profile information is acquired from the in-line connected counterpart device and the setting is performed automatically in the in-line connection corresponding to the profile information, the change is made to the counterpart device. Even if it exists, it can be dealt with automatically. In other words, it can prevent the artificial miss and reduce the product ratio.

In addition, when an abnormality occurs in the opposite device connected in-line, it is possible to take appropriate information by receiving the abnormal information from the opposite device and prevent an accident or the like.

In addition, as a countermeasure when an abnormality occurs in the coating developing apparatus 1 or the counterpart apparatus during operation, the auxiliary storage unit 11 carries out a program of the travel recovery (return process) and an abnormal type scenario according to the type of the counterpart apparatus. You can prepare the file.

As a result, when the abnormality occurs, the trouble recovery program is automatically operated to refer to the scenario file and to perform appropriate recovery processing. In this case, it is preferable that the scenario file be prepared in advance in each other in order to synchronize the operations of the coating and developing apparatus 1 and the counterpart apparatus.

  In addition, in the above-described one embodiment, the auxiliary storage unit 11 in the coating and developing apparatus 1 is used as one nonvolatile storage unit, but this may be divided into a plurality of units. In addition, a method including a process by the connection setting program 40 stored in the auxiliary storage unit 11 may be realized by hardwareization. In addition, although the coating and developing apparatus 1 was made into the 1st processing apparatus and in-line connection setting apparatus in the said one Embodiment, you may make the exposure apparatus 20 into a 1st processing apparatus and an in-line connection setting apparatus. The in-line connection apparatus is not limited to the coating and developing apparatus and the exposure apparatus, and the in-line connection setting method and apparatus of the present invention can be applied to other apparatuses as long as the in-line connection apparatus is used.

As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, when there is a change in the inline connection counterpart device main body or the internal software of the counterpart device, it is possible to automatically set the internal soft wafer corresponding to the connection counterpart device. Moreover, when a bad condition occurs in the connection partner apparatus, appropriate measures can be taken automatically.

Moreover, this invention can be applied not only to the board | substrate, such as a wafer, but also to in-line processing, such as a board | substrate, in flat panel displays, such as a liquid crystal display plasma display.

Claims (33)

As an in-line connection setting method of automatically setting connection between devices that perform in-line processing on a target object, A process of requesting, by a first processing device, to accept and deliver profile information which is information about said second processing device, to a second processing device in-line connected to said first processing device; The first processing device receiving the profile information from the second processing device; And selecting, by the first processing device, a software file to be used in the first processing device in response to the profile information. In the in-line connection setting method of claim 1, And the first processing device receives the profile information by directly communicating with the second processing device via a communication path formed in a LAN. In the in-line connection setting method of claim 1, And the profile information includes less maker information and format information of the second processing apparatus, and version information of software used in the second processing apparatus. In the in-line connection setting method of claim 1, And the profile information includes information on whether or not the second processing apparatus is in a normal state. In the in-line connection setting method of claim 1, The first processing device is connected one-to-one with the second processing device by a communication cable and has a plurality of types of hard definition files which are connector pin assignment information of the communication cable, And a hard definition file to be used by the first processing apparatus in the plurality of kinds of hard definition files in response to the profile information. In the in-line connection setting method of claim 5, The first processing device further has software for processing a target object and a plurality of types of interface files, And an interface file to be used as the first processing device among the plurality of types of interface files corresponding to the selected hard definition file. In the in-line connection setting method of claim 1, And the first processing device requests delivery of the profile information to the second processing device every predetermined time. An in-line connection setting device for automatically setting connection of a second processing device to a first processing device that performs in-line processing on a target object, Profile information about the second processing device with respect to the second processing device and the connection state confirming unit that performs connection confirmation of information communication with the second processing device in-line connected to the first processing device. An information acquiring unit for requesting the acquisition and delivery of the data and receiving the profile information; First storage means having a file selection section for selecting a software file to be used in correspondence with the profile information, and storing a program for sequentially executing the same; An in-line connection setting device, comprising: control means for executing a program stored in said first storage means. In the in-line connection setting device of claim 8, The first processing device is connected one-to-one with a communication cable with the second processing device connected in-line; And said first storage means stores a plurality of types of hard definition files that are connector pin assignment information of said communication cable. In the in-line connection setting device of claim 9, The file selection section has a hard definition file selection section, And the hard definition file selecting unit selects a hard definition file to be used from among the plurality of hard definition files. In the in-line connection setting device of claim 8, And said first storage means stores software for processing an object to be processed, said plurality of types of hard definition files, and a plurality of types of interface files. In the in-line connection setting device of claim 11, The file selection unit has a hard definition file selection unit and an interface file selection unit, The hard definition file selecting unit selects a hard definition file to be used from the plurality of types of hard definition files, And the interface file selecting unit selects an interface file to be used from among the plurality of types of interface files. In the in-line connection setting device of claim 8, And the information acquiring section receives the profile information by directly communicating with the inline-connected second processing apparatus via a communication path formed in a LAN. In the in-line connection setting device of claim 8, The profile information includes at least maker information and format information of the second processing apparatus and version information of software used in the second processing apparatus, The in-line connection setting device further includes a second storage means for storing the received profile information. In the in-line connection setting device of claim 8, And the profile information includes information of whether or not the second processing apparatus is in a normal state. In the in-line connection setting device of claim 8, The first processing apparatus is a resist coating and developing apparatus, and the second processing apparatus is an exposure apparatus. A substrate processing apparatus for performing in-line processing on a substrate in cooperation with a counterpart device, A processing unit which performs in-line processing on the substrate, A board | substrate delivery mechanism which takes over and delivers the said board | substrate between the said process part and a counterpart apparatus, A first communication interface for performing information communication for performing said in-line process with respect to said board | substrate with a counterpart apparatus, A second communication interface for communicating software information with the counterpart device; Software file storing information acquisition means for acquiring profile information about the counterpart device and a plurality of software files for controlling the operation of the own device in response to the profile information acquired via the second communication interface from the counterpart device. Memory means, And a file selection means for selecting a software file for controlling the operation of the own device from the software file storage means in response to the profile information acquired from the counterpart device via the second communication interface. Device. In the substrate processing apparatus of Claim 17, And said second communication interface is connected to a LAN with a corresponding interface of said counterpart device. In the substrate processing apparatus of Claim 17, And the profile information includes at least maker information and format information of the substrate processing apparatus of the counterpart and version information of the software used in the substrate processing apparatus of the counterpart. In the substrate processing apparatus of Claim 17, And said profile information includes information on whether or not said counterpart substrate processing apparatus is in a normal state. In the substrate processing apparatus of Claim 17, The first communication interface is connected one-to-one by a communication cable and a corresponding interface of the counterpart device, and the software file storage means has a plurality of types of hard definition files which are connector pin assignment information of the communication cable, And the file selection means selects a hard definition file to be used as the substrate processing apparatus from among the plurality of types of hard definition files in response to the profile information. The substrate processing apparatus of claim 21, The software file storage means further has software for processing the substrate and a plurality of types of interface files, And the file selection means selects an interface file to be used as the substrate processing apparatus from among the plurality of types of interface files corresponding to the selected hard definition file. In the substrate processing apparatus of Claim 17, And said information acquiring means requests acquisition and delivery of said profile information every predetermined time from said substrate processing apparatus of said counterpart. The substrate processing apparatus of Claim 17 is a resist coating and developing apparatus, and the counterpart apparatus is an exposure apparatus. A substrate processing system comprising a first processing device and a second processing device that perform in-line processing on a target object, The first processing device, Requesting and handing over the profile information about the second processing device to the connection status confirming unit and the second processing device for confirming the connection of the information communication with the second processing device connected in-line. First storage means having an information acquisition unit for receiving the profile information and a file selection unit for selecting a software file to be used in correspondence with the profile information, and storing a program for sequentially executing these; And a connection setting section having control means for executing a program stored in said first storage means. The substrate processing system of claim 25, wherein The first processing device is connected one-to-one with a communication cable with the second processing device connected in-line; And said first storage means stores a plurality of types of hard definition files that are connector pin assignment information of said communication cable. The substrate processing system of claim 26, wherein The file selection section has a hard definition file selection section, And the hard definition file selecting unit selects a hard definition file to be used from among the plurality of types of hard definition files. The substrate processing system of claim 25, wherein And said first storage means stores software for processing a target object, said plurality of hard definition files, and a plurality of types of interface files. The substrate processing system of claim 28, wherein The file selection unit has a hard definition file selection unit and an interface file selection unit, The hard definition file selecting unit selects a hard definition file to be used from the plurality of types of hard definition files, And the interface file selecting unit selects an interface file to be used from among the plurality of types of interface files. The substrate processing system of claim 25, wherein And the information acquiring section receives the profile information by directly communicating with the inline-connected second processing apparatus via a communication path formed in a LAN. The substrate processing system of claim 25, wherein The profile information includes at least maker information and format information of the second processing apparatus and version information of software used in the second processing apparatus, And the connection setting section includes second storage means for storing the received profile information. The substrate processing system of claim 25, wherein And the profile information includes information of whether or not the second processing apparatus is in a normal state. The substrate processing system of claim 25, wherein The first processing apparatus is a resist coating and developing apparatus, and the second processing apparatus is an exposure apparatus.